Democrats used to pride themselves on being the party of the working class, blue-collar, and rural Americans. Those days, if they ever existed, are long gone. Democrats are now the party of the elites, Hollywood celebrities, and coastal cities like New York and Los Angeles.
They have no idea what life is like in rural America, partly because they despise rural Americans and partly because they can't get any power from us. But if you had any remaining hope that Democrats would at least make an effort to understand those voters, let that hope fade, too, because Democratic Virginia State Senator Lamont Bagby just ended the issue for good.
Why?
He thinks he understands rural America because he watched "Dukes of Hazzard" and "The Waltons."
NEW: During a floor debate on gerrymandering, Virginia State Senator Lamont Bagby (D) says he knows a little bit about rural America because he watched Dukes of Hazzard. pic.twitter.com/b3BtbLn4V1
— Nick Minock (@NickMinock) April 23, 2026
"Listen, I almost took issue with the other side saying that we don't understand. But I grew up watching 'The Waltons.' I grew up with Opie. I even watched 'The Dukes of Hazzard.' I think I know a little bit about rural America," Bagby said to laughter.
Imagine if a Republican said they knew about urban America by watching "The Wire" or about Mexicans by watching "Breaking Bad." Democrats would lambast that as racist.
"The Dukes of Hazzard" went off the air in 1985, "The Waltons" went off the air in 1981, and Opie — from "The Andy Griffith Show" — was off the air in 1968. Few people know what these shows even are, let alone watched them. And they deal in stereotypes of rural America, not reality.
What happened to Democrats respecting "lived experiences"?
I know a little about how Democrats operate because I watched House of Cards.
— Nick Freitas (@NickJFreitas) April 23, 2026
Same logic.
I know all about Black America because I watched Good Times and Sanford and Son.
— Constitutional Minarchist (@DavisMinarchist) April 23, 2026
What an absolute Goddamned walnut.
The Left would also lose its mind about this.
Imagine a State Senator who represents a rural district saying, "I know a little bit about the struggles of black Americans, because I've watched Cops and Live PD."
— MJ (@misfittoyMJ) April 23, 2026
The meltdowns would be nuclear.
If he watches Landman this weekend, he can start his own oil company too. https://t.co/Oz0DPLFHjq
— US Oil & Gas Association (@US_OGA) April 23, 2026
Heh. Well played.
Nothing says ‘I get rural Virginia’ like the state Chair of the Democratic Party citing a fictional 1970s Georgia TV show. Bold strategy, I’m sure rural Virginians will totally understand you disenfranchising their voices…. https://t.co/phtO9peJA4
— Jason Miyares (@JasonMiyaresVA) April 23, 2026
"The Dukes of Hazzard" also took place in Georgia, which is different than rural Virginia, even though Democrats are too ignorant to realize this.
This is like Antonin Scalia defending torture because he watched Jack Bauer do it on 24.
— Shadz (@Shadzey1) April 23, 2026
"I know things cause I watched fictional television."
Incredible.
I can't beleive people like this ever hold power. https://t.co/6kW7DEHQiF
Bagby's voters think this makes them morally superior.
To rural Virginians: Democrats have nothing but contempt for you, and they don’t care if you know it.
— Virginia GOP (@VA_GOP) April 23, 2026
They literally think you are a caricature from a TV show from 40 years ago.
This is totally insulting. https://t.co/5VUV0OeVRy
And they know it's insulting because the people listening to Bagby are laughing.
This is what Democrats think of you, voters.